So much for the rebuilding year at Greenbrier. First- year Head Coach Jason Osborn has the Pack in the state semifinals after an outstanding 3-game series win over a very talented Stephenson squad. Greenbrier heads into tomorrow’s match up with Whitewater with a record of 25-7.

There is an athlete in Columbia County that deserves far more recognition than he has been given during his stellar prep career.

His name is Darius Watkins, and he is one of the finest athletes to ever perform at the high school level in our area. I must admit, I am partially to blame for Watkins being overshadowed by other athletes in the county.

Greenbrier swept past Richmond Hill on Wednesday to advance to the AAAAA State Quarterfinals. In Game one, junior right-hander Nick Sandlin continued his amazing season with perhaps his best outing of the year. He needed just 78 pitches to toss a complete game two-hitter with nine strikeouts. That ran his record to an incredible 11-0 on the season. Sandlin helped his

Well, it is not often that Columbia County has only one school to cheer for in the second round of the GHSA state baseball playoffs.

However, with opening round series losses from Evans, Lakeside, and Harlem, that is the case in 2014. The Pack got a scare from a difficult four seed in Union Grove, but won the series in three games and now move on to face Richmond Hill in Round Two beginning this afternoon.

This message is not to all Panther Fans, but there are several that have been vocal about their displeasure with Lakeside’s decision to make Steve Hibbitts its new head football coach. A few others seem to be disappointed, but are supporting their school.

Well, all of the folks questioning the selection should at least give the guy a game or two before they write him off.

Hibbitts earned quite a reputation while serving as defensive coordinator at North Augusta High School.

If you were wondering what happened to former Harlem pitching standout Josh Wirsu, you were not alone.

I must admit, I also lost track of the 6-0, 186-pound right hander. After a stellar career for the Bulldogs he spent some time at North Greenville, before transferring to Gordon State Junior College. At Gordon State, Wirsu put together an impressive sophomore season in 2013. He struck out 74 batters in only 63 innings and had an ERA of 3.03. He signed with Georgia Southern and joined fellow Columbia County product Ben Morgan (Greenbrier) in Statesboro.

I always try to do a ranking of the teams in Columbia County as the region baseball playoffs get underway. This year, Greenbrier has made selecting the top team easy.

The Pack raced through region play with a perfect 9-0 mark and seemed to get better and better as their younger players gained confidence. I cannot say enough about the job done by Jason Osborn and his staff. The kids are pitching and playing defense and their bats have really been better of late.

After the top spot there are some tough calls, but here is my ranking of the five GHSA schools in Columbia County.

The diminutive outfielder is hitting .367 (58 of 158) for the Pacers, who are 27-10 this season. Moore also has 6 doubles, 2 HR, 30 RBI, and a .420 on base percentage. He has also utilized his speed to post 17 stolen bases and a team best 8 triples.

It also recently came to the attention of pro scouts that Moore is a draft eligible Sophomore, since he turns 21 on May 28, prior to the June Amateur Draft.